The Last Day at Home

This morning I am thankful for indoor plumbing. It was 0, yeah, you got it, zero degrees! 

My little dogs, however, had to brave the cold to do their duty. I always stand right by the door when it's this bitter so when they return, the "No Waiting" sign is posted to come back in the warmth of the house. Then they plod their little snow covered bodies into the kitchen to quietly wait for their morning treat, "THE BISCUIT". 

Previously SHOUTED out the back door-- one of these enticements - "Do you want a biscuit?", "If you don't come in right now, you won't get a biscuit!", "What good little boys, here is your biscuit!". If all else fails, I blow the whistle and they come tearing into home base.

Yikes! In less than 24 hours I will be back at work with all the waiting emails and phone messages, partially dead plants, germy children, new phone calls ("I tried to call you last week, no one answered!" - no kidding), my boss with his new lists of ideas and budget cuts, hopefully not employee cuts, everyone telling me how tired they are, kids who were overindulged at Christmas and haven't a clue on which way to open a book and staff--- thinking, "and-- why did I choose this profession??"

I have never taken this much time off from work in one swoop, except to go on my Ireland jaunts. I have enjoyed every moment of it!

I spent my time on vacation: 

• doing loads of laundry
• making 30+ detailed /Christmas thank you cards 
• enjoying a quiet Christmas with my in-laws
• missing a fun filled Christmas with my sister's family and my son
• sorting out 4 garbage bags of unloved, ill fitting, and "why did I buy this?" clothing for the church dump box
• actually cleaning my bedroom thoroughly
• giving one dog a bath
• making three double batches of my mom's potato refrigerator rolls
• going on a wonderful stamp/stamp supply shopping day in Corning with my friend, Beth - YES, everything in the store was 60% off!!
• helping my husband bring in loads of wood for the stove. (we go through about one load in two  to three days)
• priming a door for the interior of the cottage
• waiting for my husband to come up from the barn for the promised Italian dinner out. He came in at 11 p.m.! Luckily, our kitchen restaurant was still open!
• cleaning, mopping, but oh!, no dusting
• making zero trips to the grocery store (I hate food shopping!)
• celebrating a wonderful post Christmas with my "irish" sisters and some of their friends --eating, telling Irish trip stories, talking crafts, eating, listening to them catch up on local news (they all live in the same town) and laughing, eating, laughing, laughing. We love each other so much!
• visiting with our elderly neighbor who stopped in to see how we like Dish Network. He is thinking about breaking down and getting it. He has worked for the railroad for many years and knows much of the history of this area and our home. 
• nervously watching for the "dog soldiers" who appeared here last week. They were much, much bigger than my little biscuit-eaters and one seemed to have a very aggressive march. They would make "chow" out of my little boys if they got a hold of them! I have no clue what country they came from or to what country went.
• sorting out the cottage. I love doing this for some strange reason - love to rearrange, look at and calculate new ways to store all my stamping stuff. Sick, huh.
• teaching myself how to do a PowerPoint presentation - so much fun!! I wish I had done this a long time ago. I have tons of stuff more to learn about it.
• setting up this blog - I am excited about it and look forward to writing and preplanning what I will write. It will give me something to think about on my 40 minute rides to and from work.
• having a post Christmas celebration with my son and then going out to lunch and shopping with him. I cherish those moments...

Happy New Year to All!

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